USC native screens latest film

Upper St. Clair Middle School students Anthony Rach and Sheb Rosati take part in “Le Blue Stella,” filmed by Peter Rosati.
Courtesy of Peter Rosati

Upper St. Clair resident Peter Rosati, a film production major at Emerson College in Boston, is having a pre-release screening of the short film, “Le Blue Stella,” at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 at the GRW Theater at Point Park University.

There will also be a free screening of the film at the USC High School LGI on at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 10, sponsored by USC Odyssey of the Mind. Also planned is a discussion of the film and process, as well as a short acting workshop.

“Le Blue Stella,” a story of two boys’ friendship and adventure aboard their handcrafted spaceship, was filmed locally this past August, and features Upper St. Clair middle school students Sheb Rosati and Anthony Rach.

The program at Point Park also includes a sneak peak of Rosati’s upcoming thesis film, “The Whistler.” Rosati called it “a magically real adventure film about protecting the things you love.”

“The Whistler” is Rosati’s Emerson College Capstone Project and will be a collaboration of more than 40 students from Emerson and a cast of actors, young and old, from around the Boston area. Filming is planned for early March.

Since “The Whistler” is a larger scale project, Rosati is trying to raise money for the film via Kickstarter. Fundraising was launched on Jan. 23, with close to $2,000 raised within a week. The budget will be used to create “The Whistler” character, sets and equipment, with excess funds being used for things like transportation, insurance, permits, visual effects, food and post production. At least $8,500 has to be raised before Feb. 12 for the project to be funded through Kickstarter.

Admission is free for the pre-release screening at Point Park, but DVDs and other items will be on sale with proceeds going toward “The Whistler.”

Film Camp

In addition to producing and directing films, Peter Rosati is also hosting a camp for kids to discover the filmmaking process. This is the second year for Peter’s Film Camp, located in Upper St. Clair. Registration has just opened; for information, visit the website: www.petersfilmcamp.com.